Manolo Gabbiadini came off the bench to put a dagger through the heart of Swansea City as he helped Southampton win a crucial three points at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday evening in the Premier League.
The game was crucial to both teams coming into the game as they knew three points would go along way to securing their safety in the top-flight.
It showed for most of the game until Gabbiadini stepped up for the Saints 18 minutes from time to seal a very important win for Southampton as they are now all but safe for another season in the Premier League.
On the other hand, Swansea will now be hoping for some help from other teams to stay up but they will go away from this game knowing that safety was in their hands giving the fact their last two games on the season were at home.
Nervous start from both teams
As was to be expected, given the magnitude of the game, both sides started the game nervously and that showed with some slack passing from both sets of players.
Austin and Clucas came close to opening the scoring for their respective teams
That meant that both sides had very few chances throughout the first half with Charlie Austin having the best opportunity to score when Pierre-Emile Højbjerg played the striker through but the striker saw his shot easily saved by Łukasz Fabiański.
At the other end, the Swans' came close themselves when a good cross from Connor Roberts found Sam Clucas in the box but the midfielder seen his flicked header just go inches wide of the goal.
Saints stand strong to fierce Swansea pressure at the end of the first half
Towards the end of the first half, the Swans had a really good spell of possession without creating any more clear-cut chances, but it was clear that the hosts decided that they best way to score against the Saints was from a cross, but the visitors stood strong as the scoreline remained goalless at the break.
McCarthy's brilliance denied Ayew from opening the scoring
The second half started on a much brighter note as the Swans almost took the lead three minutes after the restart when a brilliant long-range strike from Jordan Ayew looked destined for the top corner of the net but for a brilliant diving save from Alex McCarthy.
After that chance though and despite having a good spell in the game, the Swans lacked the killer final pass to find a way past a stubborn Saints defence.
This gave the visitors the confidence to go forward and they really should have taken the lead after the hour mark when a great cross from Cédric Soares found Austin unmarked in the box but he headed the ball straight at Fabianski from six yards out.
Hughes boldness paid off with Gabbiadini's winning goal
Needing that all-important goal, Mark Hughes made a bold decision to bring on Shane Long and Gabbiadini and that proved to be the right decision as Gabbiadini opened the scoring four minutes after coming off the bench.
The goal came from a corner which fell to Austin, who saw his goalbound shot well-saved by Fabianski, but on the rebound, Gabbiadini reacted first to slot the ball into the back of the net.
The hosts really struggled to get back into the game after that and the Saints could have doubled their lead before the end of the game when Gabbiadini played Long through on goal but his shot went into the side netting when he should have done better.
Swansea now on the brink of relegation and will need help on the final day
It didn't prove costly though as the Saints held on to win the game which all but confirms their stay in the Premier League, while the Swans will now be hoping for some help from other teams to avoid being relegated to the Championship.